Yucky yucky

I am having a horrible month. It all started off quite well, beautiful sunshine, getting loads of work done on the fields and in the greenhouse, but now I think maybe the world is out to get me again :(

I'd had a couple of weeks of non-stop work and very little time to chill out and relax and the one thing that really gives me solace from the hectic world around me is my horse. So any hour I can find spare I tack up and head out for a good gallop. As I said, I'd been too busy to ride much for a couple of weeks and was going stir crazy, so early on bank holiday weekend I decided to get out and blow off some steam with my mare Isha.

The ride started of wonderfully, we went through our local woods and enjoyed the bluebells all coming into flower, the birds singing, and the general peace and quite being up before everyone else on the bank holiday.

Then as we turned for home Isha suddenly stopped in her tracks, kicking out with her back leg. I jumped off and found, to my total horror, what I thought was a nail sticking out of the bottom of her foot.

Thankfully we'd just turned onto the road so I waved down a passing driver who held her while I tried to pull the nail out.
No luck.
So I held her while the driver tried to pull the nail out.
No luck.
The driver holds her while I hold her foot in the air and make a frantic phone call to my dad to bring tools. There is still a good inch of nail sticking out of her foot above the line of her sole and all I keep saying over and over is "good girl, calm girl, don't put your foot down, don't put your foot down".

Thankfully the next car to pass us is a friend who also has horses, so she stops as well as distracts Isha with mints and cuddles while I continue my mantra.

We get passed by 3 cars. Isha stands perfectly still, foot in the air. 5 minutes go by. We get passed by 4 trial motorbikes. Isha stands still, foot in the air. 5 minutes go by. Isha looks at me, "why haven't you made my foot better mum, I don't like this". She still stands patiently waiting for me to take the pain away.

Then two horses ride by. Now Isha is usually a total drama queen when she sees other horses out hacking, she wants to be with them, hates going away from them. But she stands still, foot in the air. Until just after they've gone past, then all she does is shift her weight slightly so she can watch them go, and down goes her foot. In goes the rest of the nail. Three very loud gasps and a long groan, from me, the driver and my friend.

Dad arrives with his tool box, and has to use a crow bar to pull it out. Then I see exactly what it is - not a nail - a threaded bolt - no wonder I couldn't pull it out by hand. Embedded a good 2" deep into her foot.

Apparently the public byway, used by dog walkers, riders and cyclists is the perfect place for fly-tipping. Usually I keep my eyes peeled for dangers and rubbish, but this kind dumper had set fire to the rubbish, so the surface of the ground looked like dark mud. Under the surface was a tangle of glass, bolts, metal etc.

We got Isha home, got the vet out (bank holiday vet's bills - not sure which is going to hurt more, Isha's foot or my bank balance). Thankfully the vet thinks the bolt missed bone so all we are looking at is high risk of infection and lots of soft tissue damage and deep bruising. Should I be thankful for small mercies?! At this point I want to go out hunting for fly-tippers, I still have that crow bar to hand....

Its now 2 weeks on, Isha has finished her long course of antibiotics but is still on painkillers, we tried to reduce them over the last week but she's still hopping lame. The scariest part seems to be over, it doesn't look like there is any infection there, but we may be facing x-rays next week if she's still lame in case there is any bone damage after all.

So far we've missed our first two shows of the season, and a lot of sunny evenings riding. But if that's the worst of it I will be a very relieved and happy horse mum.

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Then today, with my bank balance reeling from vets bills, I get my latest phone bill. I don't use my land line much, so my quarterly calls are usually under £30.
This bill total is... £297??!!??.... hold on... what the *&*%£$"*!!!!!!!!?

I have been charged for engineering work carried out outside my property?! Yes I had an engineer out. Wanna know why? Because the phone line running to my house was rubbing on a power cabel. So much so that the phone line had worn through and my phone did not work.

To be honest I was more worried about the risk of sudden electrocution while walking to my house rather than a lack of communication! So I call BT, they send an engineer, who replaced the line and lowers it away from the power lines. he even said "you wouldn't have thought this line would have been put in like this originally". No, no you wouldn't.

And yet, despite being told I am not eligible for costs of work carried out outside my property, and being told by the engineer it was the location of the line leading to inevitable damage, I have been sent this whopping bill.

So far today I have spoken to no less than 3 different BT employeers, who couldn't pass me on to the next person quickly enough 'oh, ah, um, let me pass you to so-in-so until you get bored of holding the line' Apparently someone will call me back later with news on the charge.

Maybe its time for that crow bar again...